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Cleanup Activities in Public Places | Ideas for Action

“My friends and I went to have a short weekend getaway up north,” says Isabel Nicolesson, an idealist from the Philippines. “We rented a space in this beach house. The view was wonderful...except for the very visible garbage scattered along the shore.”

Isabel and her friends had taken the trip to relax and enjoy the beach, but they just couldn't ignore all the trash they saw spoiling its beauty. They collected some bags and conducted an impromptu cleanup activity, trying to get as much garbage off the shore as they could before the tide came in.

Cleanup activities are great, fun ways to make the world a better place. Leaving a location more beautiful than how you found it, and counteracting some of the more destructive ways humans interact with the earth, is the mark of an idealist act. “We ended up gathering three sacks,” Isabel says of her cleanup.

With the shoreline rid of the trash that had been spoiling it, Isabel and her friends were able to enjoy their vacation, and the beach is more beautiful as a result of their efforts.

Angel Eduardo has been published in The Ocean State Review, The Caribbean Writer, Mr. Beller's Neighborhood, and Label Me Latino Journal. More of his work can be found on his official website www.angeleduardo.com.